Juan Mata has vowed Manchester United will learn from the mistakes that led to their 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield.
“We were on a very positive run of results, but this weekend we didn’t play a good game and we came back home with no points,” Mata wrote in his blog. “It’s time to learn from mistakes and keep going, as we always do, showing that the team sticks together when things don’t go so well, which is when we need it most.
“We’ve been performing really well against all kind of opponents. Huddersfield played their cards better than us and took the three points. All we have to do now is congratulate them and carry on. This is a not a sprint but a marathon and there’s still a long way to go.”
Ander Herrera also said following the defeat to Huddersfield that United had not shown enough “passion” in the first-half — an interview that appeared to anger Mourinho as he held his own postmatch news conference.
Herrera told MUTV: “They were more aggressive in the first half and played with more passion in the first 30-35 minutes. We have to speak between us, but that’s what happened. They were more passionate in the first 30 minutes.
They deserve the victory. We didn’t do enough to get the three points and we cannot think now that we have lost everything because we still have to play a lot of games.”
Mauricio Pochettino’s side moved level on points with United after thumping Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley on Sunday and Mata accepts the players need to bounce back quickly.
He added: “On Tuesday, we’re back to the Carabao Cup. It’s against Swansea, a Premier League side, and we play away from home so it’s going to be a tough game, but we are the reigning champions and we will try our best to win and keep moving forward.
“There’s another big game on the weekend, this time against Tottenham. We go back to Old Trafford after three games as visitors and it’s a very important match. They’re one of the most difficult teams to beat in the Premier League and also in the Champions League. It’s a key game for us to show again all the virtues we have been talking about over the last two months.
“It’s time to show that last Saturday’s slip-up is an isolated case, and that we remain in the same good direction we took at the beginning of the season.”
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